Unwanted. A word eighteen-year-old Kaelyn Jefferies knows better than most. Given up at birth, she knows nothing of love. Now she navigates this world blind, worrying only about her present to survive. And sometimes when you’re the only guide you have, you don’t always do what’s best for yourself.

After another confrontation with her bully, Kaelyn flees to her hiding spot to be alone and nurse her wounds. Instead, she finds Julian Ean, the gorgeous twenty-four-year-old calculus teacher the other girls whisper about, nursing a few of his own. Until that moment, Mr. Ean was simply a man she passed in the halls. Afterwards, he is impossible to ignore … to forget.

Mr. Ean only wanted to help Kaelyn. Patch her up and show her she was worth so much more than she was giving herself. He didn’t mean to fall in love with a student. It’s wrong, he knows it, but he can’t help himself around her. Not when her pain feels like his.

Kaelyn didn’t mean to fall in love with a teacher. It’s wrong, she knows it, but after Mr. Ean shows her what a real smile feels like, there’s no going back after that …

Book one in the Teaching Love Series, comes a poignant coming-of-age novel showcasing the beauty of strength and the delicious lure of forbidden love by Shana Vanterpool.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Under The Peaches is a truly unique forbidden love story that will tear your heart in two. Truly a must read, could not put it down!" - Goodreads reviewer

"I don't know how to express how much I love this book! It defiantly makes the list in one my favorite books!" - Nikki - Goodreads reviewer

"Under the Peaches is so much more than the typical student/teacher trope. Kaelyn and Julian are just two individuals who are meant for each other." Emily - Goodreads reviewer

"THIS BOOK! WOW.. I can't believe how beautiful this book is. This forbidden love story is SO much more... I couldn't put this book down! I was hypnotized by the chemistry of Julian and Kaelyn." - Amanda - Goodreads reviewer

"I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down!" - Tamara - Goodreads reviewer

"Hands down one of the best books I've read this year. A forbidden relationship is always filled with hotness and so much more!" - Michelle - Goodreads reviewer

"This book hurt in the most beautiful way. And you know what? I'd go on the ride again and again and again knowing what I was in-for because it was exhilarating. " - Vanessa - Goodreads reviewer

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All has not been peachy in the first 18 years of Kaelyn's life. Given up for adoption at birth and tossed from one uncaring, neglectful foster family to the next, she's never felt wanted. She doesn't know what love is; not how to give it, or receive it. No one has ever cared for Kaelyn enough to get attached to her. It's absolutely heartbreaking and devastating what this young woman has lived through in her short life.

Kaelyn has only ever been able to depend on herself. If she was hungry and needed to find food, no one was going to do it for her. If she was cold, it was up to her to find warmer clothes or a blanket. She has never found someone she could trust to take care of her needs, not even when she was a young child. Her living situation has turned even uglier since she turned 18. Now of age, and out of the 'system', Kaelyn was no longer a gravy train for the selfish couple who had housed her and barely fed/clothed her since she was 13. Kaelyn works part time while trying to finish high school, but soon the leering creep she's had as a foster dad for 5 years, starts wanting something other than cash in payment for the rent.

She's no longer a little girl. Kaelyn is a desirable young woman with a beautiful, but bruised, body and soul. She's tormented mentally and physically, daily, by a jealous and insecure mean girl. She's scared to go home and terrified at school, but she has no where else to go.

When she meets Julian Ean, a calculus teacher at her school, he is sitting in her normal hiding spot at school. Kaelyn has just been beaten again, but as usual no one notices. No students come to her defense and the teachers look the other way. It's absolutely agonizing. Julian is on her bench in the middle of his own crisis, but immediately comes to her aid. She opens up to him and is candid with him about her situation at school, which is strange for her because she trusts no one. Julian just had a warmth about him that made her think that he genuinely cared and wanted to help her. She reluctantly accepted his help and soon his classroom and his company became a safe haven for her.

As her problems at home continued to escalate, Julian continued to go out of his way to get to know Kaelyn. He provided her with a safe place to stay, food and clothes and cared for her like no one ever had before. Unfortunately his care and concern isn't enough to keep her safe when they are apart, but tragedy has a way of putting priorities in order. Kaelyn and Julian slowly come to grips with how much they mean to each other and tap dance near the line of appropriateness until they stumble over it in each others' arms.

This is a slow burn forbidden romance with an underlying story of survival. Watching the relationship between Kaelyn and Julian evolve is a thing of beauty, but it's an uphill battle. Before they can love each other, Julian has to convince Kaelyn that she's worth loving and worth saving.

Under the peaches, Kaelyn lost what little bit of self-respect and hope that she had held on to since sophomore year, but once she was able to get through the discarded and rotten fruit of right now, she found everything she had been missing her entire life. Julian helps her find closure and forgiveness for what happened under the peaches and gives her a hope for later that she'd never known before.

This breathtaking love story concludes with a (very) happy for now and alludes to a possible continuation of their story in the future.

A beautifully written coming-of-age story filled with trials, tragedy and triumph alongside a steamy, smart and heartfelt teacher/student romance. This is the first book I've read by this author and it is my one of my favourite books of the year so far.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book, but have since purchased my own copy. I want to be able to re-read this incredible, heartbreaking journey of Kaelyn learning how to love and be loved.

My first taste of what Shana Vanterpool has to offer and Under The Peaches had my heart fluttering. I know teacher/student relationships are wrong, but how can they be when you have a man willing and able to make a girl who feels so horrible in her own skin, so undesirable, suddenly feel as though she's the most precious and beautiful thing to come before them? (and of course both are legal). They're wounded and broken, but what starts off as a friendship when they're both hiding under the bleachers from the rest of the world, quickly turns into a forbidden romance that can either go horribly wrong or perfectly right... or maybe a little bit of both?

4 breath taking dreams

I was torn - i wanted to cheer these two on to say screw you to all the haters when it comes to their relationship, but at the same time, understanding why it shouldn't happen. My emotions were all over the place and for that, i have to thank Shana Vanterpool - any author who can make me feel a multitude of emotions in one sitting is one more than worth praises for it. After reading Under The Peaches, I'm now wildly curious to find out if her other novels are similar and how they differ as well. Amazing and heartfelt are just some of the words I'd use to describe this book!

*ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.Reviewed by Kathleen, The Small Girl from A small girl, her man and her books

Let me start by saying that Shana Vanterpool has completely blown me away yet again with her compelling storytelling and heartbreaking characters. Her stories continue to captivate me and this book is no different. Under the Peaches is a forbidden romance that was so much more than your typical teacher and student love story. This forbidden love story went so much more deeper than I had initially expected. This coming of age book will definitely pull on your heart strings. Kaelyn was such a captivating character whose journey in finding her own strength and courage in herself was one of the most poignant aspects of this book. I truly felt for Kaelyn's character and at times I had a hard time reading certain scenes. There's a good amount of heart wrenching moments that made this book so much more compelling. Kaelyn was such a relatable character that it was encouraging to see her journey through the issues and obstacles that she would have to endure. I also loved the relationship between Kaelyn and Julian. His love, support and protectiveness over Kaelyn were some of the things that I loved the most about his character. Even though the book ends in a bit of a cliffhanger, I'm really looking forward in seeing how their story will continue to unfold. This book will definitely be an emotional read.

"That afternoon spent under the peaches was the same afternoon I understood I wanted more from everyone and everything."

This book was gripping and compelling and the story isn't finished yet. So much happens but you still are desperately seeking more from this couple. This a long story and it's too be continued, but you still need to read it and slowly inhale this beautiful work of art that Shana has put together. It is heartbreaking at times and you will want to fight for these two.

"Our eye is bigger than our storm, and together we are stronger, we are unstoppable. Apart I am unnoticed, a history I am used to."

I will tell you right now that this story deals with some heavy hitting issues, but all of the greif is worth it and I cannot wait to dive back into this world. These two have captured my heart in a way no other couple has in a long time. Kael and Julian had me on the edge of my seat, I swear my jaw was killing me when I finished reading this, all the stress and angst which was so perfectly told had me grinding my teeth to the point of pain.